Swedish Industry and Trade Minister Thomas Ostros has commented on trade protectionism on Thursday, saying the EU limits on Chinese imports and the recent textile row between EU and China are the result of "irrationality and absurdity" of trade protectionism.

On Wednesday, EU member states gave the green light to the EU-China deal to release 80 million Chinese import garments blocked at EU ports because their quotas had been used up.

The deal has saved many middle- and small-sized enterprises which would otherwise go bankrupt, the Swedish daily, or Svenska Dagbladet, quoted Ostros as saying.

The minister said that though the crisis was resolved for the moment, in the long run, Sweden is opposed to import quotas in any forms.

"The future problems may not be in the clothing industry, but in other sectors," he warned, expressing the hope that the latest textile crisis can further demonstrate the importance of free trade.

Sweden will continue to make efforts to this end, he said.

Ostros also voiced deep concerns over the tendency of trade protectionism in some EU member countries, saying that some politicians have misplaced their focus.

Social productivity should be boosted by knowledge-based new technologies, instead of trade protectionism, he said.

Source: Xinhua